BPI (British Phonographic Industry) praises music industry for finding new profit sources and introducing innovations in the digital world. Although the industry sees the increase in overall revenues, it keeps insisting that unauthorized file-sharing is a huge problem that must be solved.

BPI is not tired of convincing the government that it needs to do more to help record labels survive in today’s digital world. As it says, total industry revenues amounted to $1.8 billion, which makes an increase in 2.3% from the previous year. In addition, last year Chief Economist for a UK-based royalty collecting group PRS for Music Will Page revealed in his research that total revenues of the industry were up 4.7% as compared to 2007. One can see from the statistics that the music business is developing rapidly, and the only one who still can’t realize that is the industry itself.

Record labels saw rapid growth in sponsorship deals, licensing and advertising two years ago. Moreover, the same happened last year when revenue from movie, TV and games licensing rose as much as 20% to $40 million. Secondary revenues generated outside of CD sales also see growth for the 3rd year in a row, now accounting for 20% of overall record labels revenues.

Still, the British Phonographic Industry insists that unauthorized file-sharing is an urgent problem needed to be solved, because if it isn’t the record labels will not be able to live out.

The only thing that all these figures show is the outstanding potential of the record labels in case unauthorized file-sharing is addressed. The BPI believes it would be doing so much better if the government punished the country’s file-sharers in its attempt to persuade them to turn into better paying users.

Considering that the British government has already passed the Digital Economy Act, allowing to disconnect file-sharers under “three-strikes” regime and impose website filtering alongside with a virtual ban on public Wi-Fi, all targeted at addressing unauthorized file-sharing, it is really hard to understand the industry asking the public to sacrifice so much for record labels already facing increasing profits.

It all reminds of the industry’s myth of existing 7 million file-sharers in Britain, which turned out to be less than 4 million, making it just 10% of the total online population in the country.

greedy or what....and only one song on the album is good......maybe if they dropped the prices of games etc etc there would be no piracy....waste of time trying to explain as it falls on deaf ears and filled pockets

Greed yes; but more than that. They are losing control on how a product is delivered. For decades they had the total control - monopoloy and how, what, where AND HOW MUCH to "allow" media to the masses - you and I. Now that is gone and they can't control it so they are freaking out. They are seeing the end to their control and their clients "artists" doing it them selves and keeping the money they have been screwing out of you, I and the "artists" for decades.

SO what they are doing is paying crooked politicians to pass laws to gaurantee them an income with out end in the future when they have no more "artists" to screw over.

These "artists" can now dictate to the RIAA and even the MPAA what the RIAA and MPAA is going to do for them. They the artists will decide how much the RIAA and MPAA will get paid for their services.

My preference would be to bypass the entire music industry and pay the artist directly. The end result would be lower costs to me (which might allow me to buy more) and increased income to the Artists who deserve adequate payment for their "Works". The Movie and Music Industries only serve themselves, stealing from and lying to everyone else. It's OK though. The writing is on the wall. Their business model is failing while they fight to keep it alive. Historically, they have been lying to and stealing from us all for too long. Their cries now are only frantic sounds made while in their death throws. Let the Greedy Bastards die. As shown by their Historical Presence, they are corrupt and have been stealing from us all for too long. I for one will shed no tears.

It's really messed up reading things like this. I mean it has been going on for years that artists have been screwed left and right by big companies that don't give a shit about them as people. Now that the internet has given artist the ability to move their own product, bypassing all the crap and hoops, there is an uproar. Not only that but the industry is still making money. There will always be bubble gum pop stars out there for them to mass produce and people that don't know any better will go out and buy the album for that one of 2 out of 12 songs that are listenable on the record.
Honestly, why don't people just put out singles anymore? Maybe have 2-3 songs on it, sell if for like $4 or something. It will recoup the expenses for recording in no time (if the music is worth listening too). There are tonnes of bands I listen too that have filler songs, and you can say "that CD was great except tracks 3,6,9.. don't know what they were thinking there." And even when you see them live, they NEVER play tracks 3,6,9 cuz even the artist knows they suck. BUT they were told by the record company to write a couple more tracks if they wanted the album put out. Too many people think the more tracks on the CD them better value they are getting for the outrageous price they have to pay..